THE old Great Harwood Health Centre will be demolished to make way for a car park, health chiefs confirmed.

A replacement £3.1m health centre is to be opened in Water Street by the end of this month. A car park for the new facility will be built on the site of the current health centre, which is also in Water Street.

Built on the old Albion Mill site, the new facility will house three GP surgeries, Great Harwood Medical Group, The Royle Practice, and Drs P and H Valluri.

The new centre was initially planned to open in 2010, but was shelved when health chiefs said it was not affordable in the wake of the financial crisis.

Shelley Prophet, spokesman for the NHS Staffordshire and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit, said: “I can confirm that the old health centre will be demolished to make way for the new car park once the new building is fully operational.”